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The Nordic Master in Maritime Engineering is based on the expertise of the participating universities within naval architecture, offshore engineering and maritime engineering. The programme targets international students wishing to profit from the Nordic Five Tech universities' long standing tradition and competence in the field and Nordic students wishing to specialize in a specific area of expertise offered within the alliance.

Study programme

The education is based on first principles within design, construction and operation of ship and offshore structures, including hydrostatics and stability, hydrodynamics, wave and wind loads and structural analyses. The teaching comprises lectures, assignments, workshops and project work. Theory is supported by experimental work and computer simulations are used intensively.

Aalto study track: Passenger ships

Aalto University offers for the Nordic Master in Maritime Engineering the study track Passenger ships. This study track gives a comprehensive overview of the different aspects related to the design, analysis and optimization of passenger ships. The studies cover both the basic knowledge as well as application of risk-assessment methods in ship design. The conflicting interests of various stakeholders will be addressed during the studies, and the student is forced to create a solution that satisfies the stakeholder's preferences.

The aim of the studies is to work on the same project ship throughout the specialization semester and work on different parts of this ship during different courses. The courses taken will be chosen so that they support the project work. This way obtained knowledge and know-how will be at the same time deep and synthesized. In addition the student is forced to plan the time spent on different parts giving the student capability to work on challenging projects with limited resources.

After the graduation the student could be located at the shipyard design department, at design offices, classification society, etc

Structure of studies

The programme is structured in two parts:

In the first year, you learn topics of maritime engineering, naval architecture and offshore engineering on Master level: stability, resistance and propulsion, seakeeping, manoeuvring and ship and ocean structures. If you did not have naval architecture as part of your bachelors’ programme, you will also have basic introductory courses in naval architecture. In addition to maritime engineering courses, you must do courses on general and special engineering competences, such as CFD, structural analysis, composite materials etc. The emphasis on each subject will depend on the entrance university and your entrance qualifications.

In the second year, you specialize in one of the five subjects: ocean structures, passenger ships, ship design, ship operations and small craft. Each of the subjects defines a study track.

It is required that you start at one of the partner universities for part 1 and finish your studies at another university for part 2.

Study tracks

Each of the five study tracks is defined below, with the partner university responsible for the track given in parenthesis:

Ocean Structures (NTNU)

This study track gives you a strong foundation for design of any type of ocean structure, from conventional ships to offshore structures. It also deals with marine operations like pipelaying, towing and use of cranes on mobile platforms for installation of subsea modules. The study track is discipline based and includes groups of courses within marine environment, environmental loads, effects of loads, structural capacity and marine cybernetics.

This study track gives comprehensive overview of the different aspects related to the design, analysis and optimization of passenger ships. The conflicting interests of various stakeholders (passenger, ship owner, shipyard) will be addressed during the studies, and you will be forced to create a solution that satisfies the stakeholder's preferences.

In this study track, you will be part of a project team and work with a problem oriented and realistic ship-design project with a company from the maritime industry as the “customer”. You will be part of a student team guided by professional engineers from industry and faculty members from Chalmers. The initial design process prior to an order of a new ship is covered during the project following the demands of the customer. The project will take place during the second year and you will utilize and link together knowledge from all the marine engineering courses of the first year.

In popular terms the definition of this study track is that it mainly deals with naval architecture and maritime engineering from the point of view of the ship owner, i.e. it deals with ships at sea. You will learn to apply rational methods in analysing and optimizing the performance of ships (container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, ro-ro ships etc.) with respect to safety, efficiency, economics and environmental considerations.

The Small Craft track is designed to prepare you for the engineering challenges of the design and engineering of the group vessels often called small craft. The group includes fast rescue boats, patrol boats, pilot vessels and other similar vessels. Also yachts are dealt with in the track. These craft must be able to carry out their vital operations safely and efficiently during the toughest weather conditions. Also yachts must sail safely – and win their races. You will learn to apply rational methods for innovative design, including for instance advanced materials. Moreover, methods for efficient design processes and system engineering aspects related to small craft design are also taught in this track.

Programme-specific requirements

In order to apply for the Nordic Master programme in Maritime Engineering (NMME), you have to fulfill a number of requirements. The requirements apply to all applicants for the programme regardless of where you decide put in your application.

Degree Requirements:

A BSc degree corresponding to a minimum 180 ECTS credits in:

Naval Architecture for start at Aalto, Chalmers, DTU, KTH and NTNU,

Mechanical engineering for start at Aalto, Chalmers and KTH

A BEng in Mechanical Engineering is accepted for start Aalto, Chalmers and KTH.

Applicants with a BEng in Naval Architecture, or a BSc or BEng in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, in Ocean Engineering, in Civil Engineering or in Engineering Physics will be considered on an individual basis.

The applicant’s qualifications must include a strong working knowledge of mathematics and mechanics and applicants must document that they have fulfilled the following minimum requirements:

Statistics and probability theory: 5 ECTS. Students without this qualification must be prepared to complete their curriculum during the first year.

Statics, mechanical vibrations, and strength of materials: 10-15 ECTS

Fluid mechanics: min. 5 ECTS Moreover, the applicant must have sufficient qualifications within numerical methods and elementary programming using e.g. MATLAB or a similar programming language.* Applicants with a Polytechnic (FI), Högskoleingeniör (SE) and Diplomingeniør (DK) degree may be expected to do extra course work to qualify for the programme.

The applicants must have an excellent command of English and they must present an official language test report. The acceptable tests are TOEFL and IELTS. No other English proficiency tests are accepted.

When filling the online application form, the test date and the test scores have to be filled in, if they are already available. The results are valid for two years. The language test result has to be valid during the application period. That means that the test result has to be valid at least on the first day of the application period. Please note that the ETS does not send TOEFL test results after they have expired.

If the test result (total/writing) is lower than the minimum scores below, the application will not be be processed.

If the language test is taken after submitting the application package, please notify us by e-mail admissions [at] aalto [dot] fi (send a copy of your result). Of course, with the TOEFL test, the official score report needs to be ordered from the ETS.

The language test report has to arrive at the admissions office by the language test deadline 2 March 2015.

When you take the TOEFL test, you need to order the official test report to be sent directly to Aalto University, reporting code 7364 as soon as the score is available. Only this official score report submitted by ETS is accepted. In addition, you can enclose a copy of the test result in your application if available. More information on TOEFL.

When you take the IELTS, enclose a copy of the result to your application package. The IELTS test result can be verified officially by Aalto University at a service offered by the testing authorities. More information on IELTS.

English language test exemptions:

Applicants who have completed a higher education degree and the requisite studies in an English-language programme requiring a physical on-site presence at a university in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom or the United States.

Applicants who have completed at least a 3-year degree instructed in English in an EU/EEA country.

Evaluation criteria

Ranking

All applications are academically evaluated by the consortium partner universities. For candidates fulfilling the above requirements, the ranking of students is done on the basis of student’s academic achievements. Admission is based on joint decision by the admission board of the consortium.

Required application documents

Documents to be sent

Please include these documents in your application:

Application form (print it and sign it after you have submitted it online)

A high-level BSc or a MSc degree in a relevant subject (a certified copy)

Academic transcript of your BSc degree or MSc degree

Curriculum Vitae

Two academic letters of reference in English (originals or certified copies)

A copy of your passport (a normal photocopy is sufficient)

IELTS or TOEFL with the required score (instructions for submitting the language test scores)

Please note that a motivation letter is part of the application form: you can prepare it in advance (max. 4000 characters) and copy-paste it directly to the online form.

If the degree has been awarded by a higher education institution in Finland, the copies of study certificates must be certified either by the issuing institution or by two competent witnesses / unbiased signatories. The copies must be made of the original, official documents and copies of copies will not be accepted. If the certificate has several pages, each page must be certified from the right side of the page. Each page of the copy must carry the signature, name of the signatory/signatories and date. The signatories must see the original document and the copy of it side by side. By signing they certify that the copy is an unaltered copy of the original document.

If the degree has been awarded by a higher education institution outside Finland, the copies of study certificates must be certified by the issuing institution or by a notary public. The copies must be made of the original, official documents and copies of copies will not be accepted. If the certificate has several pages, each page must be certified from the right side of the page. Each page must be certified separately and indicate clearly the date and the original signature, printed name and stamp of the certifying officer. The mere mention of the official copy (eg. stamp "True copy") is not enough. Please also see the country-specific requirements.

Application Steps and Instructions

The online application form opens on 1st December 2014 and closes 15th January 2015. The paper application and all its enclosures must be received by the Admission Services no later than 15 January 2015 at 15.00 (GMT + 2:00 hours). Late applications will not be considered.

Tuition fees and scholarships

Currently, for the 2015 intake, there are no application neither tuition fees for this programme in Aalto University.

Aalto University Student Union, AYY, has a membership fee (92 €) which is obligatory for the degree students but includes many benefits (health care, services, discounts etc..)

Currently DTU, KTH and Chalmers charges fees to non-EU/EEA students. Some universities also charge an application fee and some have a compulsory student union fee. Please read more at the individual universities webpage:

Selection schedule

The online application form opens on 1st December 2014 and closes 15th January 2015. The paper application and all its enclosures must be received by the Admission Services no later than 15 January 2015 at 15.00 (GMT + 2:00 hours). Late applications will not be considered. Admission decisions will be published in March 2015.